Bill Zwecker is the expert when it comes to knowing the scoop on the rich and famous. The Chicago Sun-Times columnist covers the globe finding out the latest news about celebrities for his readers and viewers.

The lives of Michelle and Barack Obama have been so deeply examined in every form of media, yet now a film has been shooting in Chicago that frankly has nothing to do with the first couple’s political life, but instead focuses entirely on the initial spark of the Obamas’ romantic relationship.

When asked if his iconic character “Ethan Hunt is now more Tom Cruise, or Tom Cruise is now more Ethan Hunt,” the actor quietly chuckled on the red carpet at the world premiere of “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” in the Austrian capital.

Christopher McQuarrie, the writer and director of “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation” (opening Friday) who won the best original screenplay Oscar for “The Usual Suspects,” worked with Tom Cruise on three previous movies before they teamed-up on “Rogue Nation.”

For actor Billy Crudup, starring in “The Stanford Prison Experiment” (opening Friday) had a far deeper impact on him — more profound than he thought it would, even after first reading the film’s screenplay.

It’s always good to have North Shore native Jeff Garlin back in town, and the actor and comedian was recently spied supping at Tavern on Rush and by surprising the crowd at Bar DeVille’s weekly free comedy seires, “Parlour Car.”

Friends and colleagues of Shia LaBeouf are urging the actor — who has frequently exhibited unnerving and often frightening behavior — to check himself into treatment, both for substance abuse and anger management.